/528/ The Heroic Bourgeoisie in the Democratic Post-Colony ft. Sandipto Dasgupta

On the making of independent India – and its lessons.

Assistant professor of politics at The New School, Sandipto Dasgupta, talks to contributing editor Alex Gourevitch about this new book, Legalizing the Revolution: India and the Constitution of the Postcolony.

• Why was the postcolonial movement insufficiently anti-colonial?

• What is the difference between the legal and political meaning of popular sovereignty – and why does it matter?

• What was the hidden, repressive element to the Indian Constitution?

• Did post-colonial leaders create something novel, even heroic? Or did they fail even on their own terms?

• Where do the democratic and counter-revolutionary aspects of the Indian revolution express themselves?

• How do symbolic substitutes for genuine popular participation play themselves out in Modi's India?

Links:

• Legalizing the Revolution: India and the Constitution of the Postcolony, Sandipto Dasgupta, Cambridge UP

• /198/ Universal India ft. Achin Vanaik

• /417/ Has India passed peak Modi? ft. Achin Vanaik